10/01/06 - “Prophecy – The Seal of God – Part 1” - 40L - FM
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

This Week: “Prophecy – The Seal of God” - Part 1
(Prayer & Pledge)
In the last 4 broadcasts, we identified the Little Horn Power of Daniel 7 with nine different points and found it could only be the Papacy. And in Revelation 13 we discovered the Papacy again as the only power on earth that fits the nine identification points of that chapter. We further learned that this power changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday and boasts that it is a mark of her ecclesiastical power to have done so.  

In the act of changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, for which there is no scriptural authority, the Papacy deepened the apostasy that had been developing since the end of the first century, and added to the wine of Babylon that all nations of the earth have been made drunk with. We will show in subsequent broadcasts that apostate Protestant America would form an image to the beast and soon pass a National Sunday law, which would usher in the Mark of the Beast. Everyone embracing Sunday worship would receive the Mark of the Beast in the forehead (belief system). Those who choose to work on Saturday, God's Sabbath, receives the mark of the beast in the hand. No one has that mark yet, but we do believe this is the generation of that very fulfillment.

This week we are going to focus in on God's Special Mark. God has a special mark, or seal or sign that he places in the foreheads (belief system) of His people. Would you be startled to learn that unless a person bears this mark at Jesus' return, he/she cannot enter God's kingdom? Would you be shocked to learn that most people are totally unaware of God's mark, and thus ignore it? One great prime purpose of Revelation is to identify and restore God's mark to His people. Few things are as important to God as His mark, and He is much displeased that mankind is ignoring it. Now let's examine this subject more closely.

In Revelation 7:1-3, “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.””  So a mighty angel has commanded that the final winds of war and destruction not unleash their fury upon the earth and sea until something very important be completed. “…we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads” 

Note- The angel is saying that God will not permit destruction to come upon the earth until His people have all received His seal or mark. With God, the marking of His people is an extremely imperative priority matter. Remember that in prophetic symbolic language, winds represent war, strife and destruction.  

How widely will the serious messages of Revelation, including the truth about God's seal, sign or mark, be presented? Revelation 14:6  “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—.”

Note- Seal, Sign and Mark are used interchangeably in Scripture. Romans 4:11 "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,"; Ezekiel 9:4 "and the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.”"; Revelation 7:2,3 "Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”"  

This week we see that just as the little horn power, the beast of Revelation 13, (the Papacy), has a mark that its followers will receive in their foreheads, (belief system), so God also has a mark or seal that His true followers will receive in their foreheads, (belief system). Before going further, we need to understand that a seal in the Bible may stand for a truth or a requirement of God, or a seal may indicate God's ownership and approval.  

There must be three distinct parts of a seal in order for the seal to make an instrument legal or official. Government seals are used to officially identify laws and authorize legal documents for its jurisdiction. Such a seal must give the lawgiver's: A. Name; B. Title; and C. Territory over which that person or government body rules and has authority. For example, the presidential seal gives the name, George Bush; the title, President; the territory, the United States of America.

So what is God’s seal and where is it found? Exodus 20: 8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

Note- God's moral law, the Ten Commandments, contains God's seal in the fourth commandment. It states: A. God's name ("the Lord thy God"), B. His title or office as Creator ("made") and C. His dominion or territory ("heaven and earth").

The fourth commandment sets forth in unmistakable language, the authority behind the Ten Commandments, the authority of our creator and the Government of God.  

 It is not only God's Mark or Seal, it is also God's Sign. Revelation is clear, we worship God because He is our CREATOR, Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created; and REDEEMER, Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.””
 What has God provided for His people as a sign, seal or mark of His creating and redeeming power? Exodus 31:16,17  “Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”; Ezekiel 20:12,20 “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.”

Note- God Himself, made the Sabbath a sign of His creating, redeeming power. When I keep His Sabbath holy, I demonstrate my acceptance of Him as my Creator and Savior.

Where does the great angel of Revelation 7 say this sign or seal of God will be placed on a person? Revelation 7:3 “saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.””

Note- The forehead represents the mind. We serve the Lord with our minds, Romans 7:25 “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”
When we consent to keep God's Sabbath we are marked, or signed in our minds, which are represented by the forehead. Angels of God are holding back the fury of Satan, until God's people everywhere have accepted His sign. God is reaching His people all over the world to receive this very message, through personal evangelism, television, radio and short wave radio and He is using this broadcast to reach those of His people that might never had been reached otherwise.  

Are you beginning to get the picture? The Papacy’s mark, the mark of the beast is Sunday, the day the Papacy made holy with no Biblical authority for the change. God’s mark or seal is the seventh day Sabbath. It is about a day and who has your worship.
In our next broadcast we are going to look at three things God did to the seventh day to make it special. 
 
Friends, I encourage you to find a Sabbath keeping church near you. You are always welcome to worship with us each seventh day Lord’s day at the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church located at 117 W. Danville Street in the center of South Hill, VA.

Next Week: “Prophecy – The Seal of God – Part 2”

Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Come Lord Jesus.